Thought leadership

August 21, 2009

Where were you November 23, 1984? I am sure that 99.9% of people can't remember where they were, but I bet if I showed you a clip of the college football game played that night it would help.

Do you remember the Boston College vs. Miami football game? The "Flutie" game? That was the night that #22 Doug Flutie, the 5'9" QB, threw a "Hail Mary" 65 yards with no time on the clock to win the game 47 – 45. Everybody remember that. We've seen the "Hail Flutie" thousands of times. He was the hero. The story was legendary.

Do you remember the opposing QB for Miami? Bernie Kosar. Nobody really remembers Bernie that night, but Kosar had a very respectable career with the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1985 – 1993. He then bounced around to Dallas and Miami until retiring in 1996.

Do you remember Flutie's NFL career? Nope. Nobody does. He really didn't have one. He was the 285th pick in the 11th round. He ended up playing in the Canadian Football League and short stints in the NFL with Chicago and New England. He was in and out in about three years.

What will you be remembered for?

I have an old friend in professional sports ministry. He has served as "chaplain" for the Cleveland Indians and Browns for 30 years now. We got to know each other in the 1990's while I had a lay ministry with the Kinston Indians (Single-A baseball). He was my "boss" in a way, but more of a mentor. Tom no longer handles the Indians but has focused on the Browns for about the last 5-6 years.

In sports ministry, you have your "highs" and "lows". You measure success in a very different ways. Sometimes you may be excited about 15-20 guys attending a Bible study or Sunday chapel, but that may not be a successful season. Success some years may be finding a core group of men (2-3) that are strong in their faith, growing in their personal walk with Christ, and leading their teammates by Christian example. Living out their faith in their day-to-day actions while others silently watch. The "ripple" effect of a ministry like that can't be measured.

In a recent newsletter, Tom spoke of being asked how long he had been in ministry. Thirty years – and people ask why he keeps working in professional sports. (Translation: Isn't there something better you could be doing with your life?)

Tom's answer: "There is nothing like seeing God transform a wild and crazy knucklehead into a spiritual leader over the years."

August 14, 2009

I have written recently on the importance of focusing marketing efforts not only on customer acquisition, but on customer retention as well. The comments below were forwarded to me by one of my Xerox representatives, Tami Kolb. The comments are from one of the speakers at a Xerox "Thought Leadership Workshop".

Understanding the emotions behind purchasing behavior is critical to any business, whether in the B2B or B2C space. Once you understand emotional influences, you can then create highly relevant, meaningful messages, graphic presentations and promotions that will draw customers to your brand and capture their lifetime value.

Capturing lifetime value is one of the most important goals of any marketing program.

Research shows that it typically costs $20 on average to gain a new customer and only $4 to retain a customer.

Regardless whether you work in the B2B or B2C space, you must understand the emotions associated with purchasing decisions for your products or services. You must understand those emotions in order to connect with customers, draw them to your brand and build personal value and equity that lasts a lifetime.

What's interesting is that the comments apply across all business types but in this particular case very tangible for me. We are in the process of taking delivery of a couple of new Xerox digital presses. We have had Xerox in the printshop for many years, but a comparison analysis is always done in a purchase or lease of this size. But during the whole decision making process, I could "feel" my loyalty to Xerox. The competitors were going to have to beat Xerox. It wasn't even a level playing field because of the loyalty and bond I felt with Xerox from the beginning. And the bond isn't necessarily with a machine of course, it's the people. I have a relationship with the Xerox rep, Tami Kolb; the local distributor, Scott Williams; and the service technicians have been phenomenal.

Combine the relationships with a track record of performance; they have captured lifetime value.

August 03, 2009

Like it or not, competition is all around us. And in terms of free enterprise, competition is a good thing. In terms of your competitor kicking your butt, not so much. If the latter is the case, your competition has done something better than you or is doing something you're not doing.

So what you need is knowledge. You must know everything going on in your market, including information about your customers, prospects and, of course, your competitors. So take 60 seconds and ask yourself a couple of questions:

What are the top 3 benefits of your competitors?

How is your company unique compared to your competitors?

Finally, would YOU buy from YOU?

The point: Be brutally honest, if you don't think your company can serve your existing target market better than your competitor, you have two options:

July 27, 2009

I have been quietly working on a new sales strategy. Actually not any one part of it is new at all, it's just the combination of the parts makes it a "strategy" and that's "new" to me. But this is a strategy that can and should work for everybody, no matter what the industry. I guess the only restriction might be it would be best for a product or service that would benefit from a "consultive" type selling posture.

This works equally well on existing customers you need to learn more about to solidify relationships or new prospects you are pursuing. None of this is rocket science. The fact that it is so simple may be the very reason these steps are ignored. The other reason is just plain laziness. But for the most part, all the steps are very easy.

Here you go:

Step #1 – The LETTER. Send a letter of introduction to the prospect. The guts of the letter can be a form letter with a few tweaks to customize for each prospect. In this strategy I'm not sending out a mass of letters and then hoping for the phone to ring. No, no, no. This is highly targeted prospecting. I send out a maximum of five (5) letters in any one week to quality prospects. These letters are mailed on a Friday or Monday.

Step #2 – The CALL. The next week I will follow up on the letters I sent out on Friday and Monday. Follow-up day is Thursday and I block out time to make all those initial calls at 9:00 a.m. The purpose of the call is to see if the letter was received and to set an appointment to visit and learn about the prospect. I just ask for 15 minutes of their time.

Step #3 – The APPOINTMENT. In that first appointment, I only want about 15-20 minutes to break the ice and get to know them and their needs. If the meeting lasts longer, that's great. But it's just to ask a few questions and learn more about the prospect in preparation for a 2nd meeting. I have a few critical pieces of information I want to get and that's it.

Step #4 – The PROPOSAL. This will be my 4th contact with the prospect. We know each other a little bit and if I did my job correctly, I can know propose a way we can do business that will benefit the both of us. Understand, this isn't always a way he can SAVE money. I am not about being the cheapest printer out there. Most of the time, I am proposing why he should do business with me and PAY MORE. But that's another topic for another day.

In fact, I may break down these steps in more detail in the future. This is what works for me. It fits my personality and my style. It's pretty low key and allows me to warm up to the prospect over a period of time. But understand, it does take time and you must make sure the prospect is worth it. Not all customers are worth this investment of time. That may sound cold, but it's true.

May 21, 2009

Thomas Watson, who founded IBM in 1924, placed on the wall behind his desk a single framed word: THINK. It became the corporate motto of one of the most influential companies of the century.

Think. The handiest source of new product ideas is your mind, if for no other reason than that you are always carrying it around with you. You have a mind. The next step is to open it and keep it open. What you want is to be open to change.

Remember the management guru Peter Drucker? He said the most successful innovations exploit change. Drucker defined seven specific kinds of change that are sources of innovative opportunity:

The unexpected, including unexpected success, unexpected failure, and unexpected events.

Incongruity between reality as it actually is and reality as it is assumed to be.

Innovation based on process need.

Changes in industry structure and market structure-especially those that catch everyone unaware.

Demographic shifts.

Changes in perception, mood, and meaning.

New knowledge, including the scientific and the nonscientific.

We are keenly aware of the effect of changes in the graphic and arts industry. Few industries have undergone as much change during the last few years as printing. We anxiously embrace new technologies and see the changes as opportunities – not something to fear or dread.

May 08, 2009

"Leadership is the fusion of heart and mind in selfless action, for the betterment of others, to effectively accomplish the mission and make a difference." – Retired Brigadier General Becky Halstead

As David Letterman would say: "the top 10 things" you need to know about leadership and being a leader:

10. The best leaders listen hard, think forward, take time to reflect and stay real.

9. A leader's success is only as good as the people he/she has led. Leaders motivate when they appreciate!

8. To be a great leader, you must first know how to serve others.

7. Leadership is about character, and character has no race, no gender, no rank or title.

6. Real, caring, and passionate leaders understand the requirement to become more selfless the higher they go, not more self-centered.

5. Effective leaders practice "rank has its responsibilities" not "rank has its privileges."

4. If you have to keep reminding people you are the leader, then you probably are not.

3. The most effective leaders are those who are not intimidated by the intellect, talent and experiences of others. On the contrary, they seek out, respect and surround themselves with the experts (not to be confused with "yes" people).

2. If leadership were easy, everybody would be doing it.

And, the number one thing you need to know about leadership is,

The first person you lead is you. This means you have to take care of yourself – physically, mentally, spiritually – because your people need you.

(Excerpted from article written by West Point graduate, Becky Halstead who served 27 years with the U.S. Army and retired as a Brigadier General. She currently is the Executive Director of Leader Development with The Praevius Group.)

Advantage Printing is a commercial print & marketing company serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses and is not participating in the current economic recession.

May 06, 2009

What's it going to be? Are you going to participate in this economic downturn? Recession? Or are you going to choose a different response? Are you going to be one of the creative solutions that will be born out of this time?

I'm tired of everybody telling me that they are cutting their budgets and just trying to hang on. I've been guilty myself of perpetuating those conversations and line of thinking.

It takes risk to build a business. It takes risk to be an optimist. This country was built on the back of that entrepreneurial spirit. The cornerstone of our country is small business and the courage that comes from risking it all for cause.

What about you? You may not have your own business but you can still have that entrepreneurial spirit and drive for a cause. What's your cause? Your purpose? Your passion? Have you discovered yours?

Advantage Printing is a commercial print & marketing company serving churches, nonprofits and small businesses and is not participating in the current economic recession.

April 07, 2009

I received the following on twitter today from @courageous, The Courageous Church in Atlanta.

Wow! What is your reaction?

At first, I was appalled. I thought, "Man, I am all for a church marketing itself, but this crosses the line." And I do believe in church marketing. I think most people believe in church marketing. I think the big hang up is in the definition of "marketing." Richard Reising spends about 30 pages defining marketing from a biblical perspective in his book Church Marketing 101. If church leaders would read that, just the first 30 pages even, I think all would agree that your church IS marketing whether you know it or not. Your church IS making an "impression" (i.e. marketing) either good or bad.

Churches market themselves for what reason? To reach the unchurched or get new members, however you define your objectives. So, in the case of The Courageous Church, they are trying to reach the unchurched and get new members, correct?

So why was I so taken aback by the approach? To me, it would motivate the Courageous body in an improper way. But then I asked myself if I would feel differently if the "prize" had been a nice dinner with your spouse or a family night out valued at $100. And, yes, I did feel differently about that. But not sure I should have. I felt a different emotion, maybe wrongly so.

I checked out The Courageous Church website. They have a couple sites so check all the links if interested. You have to hand it to these guys, whether you agree with them or not. Creativity and boldness abounds. They are not afraid to offend. Personally I don't think that can always be called courageous, sometimes it's just stupid. But take a look at some of their ideas. I really like the FREE BREAKFAST CHURCH. Where they serve free breakfast every Sunday right there at the church. It's timely, relevant and fills a need of many hurting people. And I'm certain that lives may be changed along the way. Look at SERVOLUTION! A week devoted to simple acts of kindness through serving. Then you have Pastor Shaun King's blog with posts such as Weed Smoking Volunteers and Banning Women from Ministry is Sin. Controversial to say the least.

Shaun King and Courageous Church, to me, are almost like a "shock jock" on the radio. He certainly got my attention with the tweet above. Do I think it's right? I've stated my mixed emotions. I felt my opinion shifting as I wrote this post. Shaun is offering $100 bucks to encourage people to focus on evangelism. But when you really think about it, isn't a pastor paid to do the same thing? I realize it's much more complicated than that. But when I first started, I wanted to criticize and bash Courageous for its methods and now, I don't feel so critical. Not a method I would use. But is it biblical? Would love to hear some feedback here or on twitter @davidamoore. I bet @courageous would jump in as well.

March 14, 2009

I am a huge Gary Vaynerchuk fan. I am not a wine drinker, but this guy will get you thinking. And he really makes you believe in "YOU". After watching his videos or keynotes, you think, "I can do this." So this is a NY Times article. Read it, print it, save it. You can do this!

March 02, 2009

I am a huge fan and reader of Seth Godin. I have read many of his books and listened to others on Audible. He will inspire you and make you question the status quo. He may hit you where it hurts so don't read his stuff if you have soft skin or aren't willing to change.